Tonearms

What good are your fingers without an arm attached to them? You can spend big money on a hi-fi cartridge and appreciate little difference in the perceived sound quality jumping out of the speakers. The tonearm is as important as the cartridge in the tone making equation of your turntable. Think of it this way:

Bad Cartridge + Good Tonearm = Bad Sound

Good Cartridge + Bad Tonearm = Okay Sound

Good Cartridge + Good Tonearm = Good Sound

These may look like silly equations, but there's more than a kernel of truth in there. Good does not necessarily mean expensive. You can put together a perfectly respectable, audiophile quality tonearm-cartridge combo for under $500!

Whatever you choose, make sure that you have different tonearm cables and cartridges for reference when testing out a new tonearm.